The Taisho Brother's Game and Wildlife Capture
by Tori Rex
Summary: AU-The business of capturing animals for zoos and wildlife preserves was second nature to the Taisho Brothers. However, the Skikon Zoo sends a city girl photographer to document the summer capture season. Inuyasha has a bit of a past that he isn't going to share with anyone that doesn't already know and Kagome is just trying to take a few pictures. Let the wackiness ensue.
1. The Rhino

**Summary**: AU-The business of capturing animals for zoos and wildlife preserves was second nature to the Taisho Brothers. However, the Skikon Zoo sends a city girl photographer to document the summer capture season. Inuyasha has a bit of a past that he isn't going to share with anyone that doesn't already know and Kagome is just trying to take a few pictures. Let the wackiness ensue. Rate M to be safe and because to Inu's mouth.

Disclaimers: I do not own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 1: The Rhino**

The winds swept over the plains of the Serengeti. Waves of tall yellow grass pulsated with the warm breeze of early summer. Long silver hair flipped over a nose sniffing delicately at the breeze, obscuring an amber predator's gaze. Triangular ears pivoted atop his head to locate sounds of any movement or threat that could not be seen. Quickly, Inuyasha pulled his hair out of his face and secured it with a piece of leather, to keep it from obstructing his view again.

"Do you think it's a big one?" asked the young fox demon sitting behind the wheel of the old beat up Ford truck.

"Feh! It's a fucking rhino. They're always big and mean as hell." The inu hanyou walked around to the front of the truck and hopped into the specially designed seat mounted to the hood of the truck. He strapped himself into the seat, tucking his hair in his shirt, and grabbed the pole and rope meant to capture their quarry.

Hunting was something that came naturally to Inuyasha. It was a gift really. It didn't matter what it was, Inuyasha could track it down and capture it alive. It was how he was raised in the business he was in with his older, full demon half brother Sesshomaru. Together they owned and operated Taisho Brother Wildlife Game and Capture. Although, Sesshomaru did more of the owning and Inuyasha did more of the operating. The business had originally belonged to their father. Inu Taisho had brought his fifteen year old son from a previous relationship, his new wife, and their infant son to the large estate located fifty miles outside of Arusha in Tanzania, Africa. He had been a demon of the highest nobility, but he had given most of it up for the love of a human. To protect his human wife and infant hanyou son, he moved them across the world to a place where no one noticed and no one cared. It seems demons, humans and hanyous mingled well in the wilds of Africa.

The business of capturing animals for zoos and wildlife preserves was second nature to a dog demon. The biggest obstacle had been capturing the animals alive. In the early years, the Taisho's found out that simple tranquilizer darts distressed the animals too much and the survival rate was very low. The best and easiest way to capture an animal and have it arrive safely at its destination was an easy method that game wardens had used long before the Taisho's had ever arrived in Africa. An old truck, with a special chair mounted on the hood, was used for catching. A WWII surplus Jeep, kept tuned to perfection, was used to "chase" the animal down and tire it out. And a flat bed truck meant to haul the animal back to the farm before, mild sedation for transport all over the world.

It took ten years to get the precision down to an art form. Everyone, in the beginning, pitched in and learned to do everything. By the age of ten, Inuyasha could drive as well as his mother, track as well as his brother, and was very close to sitting in the big chair like his father. In that time, Taisho Game and Wildlife Capture became the go to company to capture and deliver exotic and dangerous animals to zoos and wildlife preserves for exhibits or breeding programs all over the world. It was just before Inuyasha's twelfth birthday that tragedy struck the family. No one really knows what happened, or how it really transpired, but the accident was a bloody, fiery mess that took the lives of Inu Taisho and his wife Izayoi. Sesshomaru had to return from Japan to take care of the little brother he never wanted. Inuyasha was faced with the loss of his parents and the cold apathy of his older brother.

When Sesshomaru returned, he changed the name of the company to The Taisho Brother's Game and Wildlife Capture, though never really telling the younger Inuyasha. He managed the money and the political aspects of the business which continued to grow. He even kept the family his father had hired years before, mostly because he would have had to raise Inuyasha had he dismissed them. Surprisingly enough, Inuyasha knew what to do, so Sesshomaru allowed the boy to practically run wild. The young hanyou had learned the hard part of the business from the man who pioneered it in the first place. There were a few incidents with some of the smaller prey animals, like antelope and deer, but Sesshomaru wrote those off as Inuyasha's natural instincts getting the better of him, "_Weak half breed."_ He had told the boy on all of those occasions.

There was obviously an animosity between the two brothers. There were also times, mostly while Inuyasha was going through his hormonal adolescence that the brothers fought until both were bruised and bloody. But that animosity had mellowed out over the last few years. Regardless of any ill feelings between the brothers, it was very clear to anyone that they were fiercely protective of each other. Only Inuyasha could beat the crap out of Sesshomaru, and vice versa.

Now, the company was the best in the business. The Taisho Brother's had orders from every continent for animals from all over the world. It was late March, the beginning of summer and the hunting season on the Serengeti. The summer was always the best time for hunting. It was after mating season in the spring, and the animals were less aggressive and more occupied with staying alive. Today, they were after the elusive rhino. Taisho Brother's Game and Wildlife Capture had an order from the Shikon Zoo in Tokyo. Honestly, most of this year's orders were for the Shikon Zoo, but the rhino could be the most problematic, which is why Inuyasha wanted to get it over and done with as soon as possible.

There had been several mishaps over the years with the rhino and Inuyasha was trying to be cautious at best. They had picked up a trail of this rhino a few days ago and had followed the tracks. Sango and her two tailed fire cat, Kirara, were acting as aerial support. They had spotted the rhino grazing several miles away. Miroku and Koga were in the chasing car, ready to start running the beast towards Inuyasha's location. The young Shippo was starting his first season driving the catching truck. The kid had done well with the giraffe and gnu during his test run last season, but this would be his first test at anything that had a habit of fighting back.

Inuyasha reached down and picked up a handful of dirt and sand, rubbing it in his palms, "Tell the letch and the wolf to start herding it this way. Once I pick up the scent, try to get along side of the rhino. But not TOO close, ok Runt?" He grasped his catching pole tightly.

The young fox pulled the radio from its cradle, "Catching truck to chase car, Baka says to start herding this way."

"Watch it Runt!" the hanyou growled.

The radio squawked, "Tell Dog Shit to get a rope around its neck this time."

"Keh!" was Inuyasha's eloquent response, "Do your job Wolf Shit and I'll do mine," He lowered the goggles that would protect his eyes.

"Coming your way Mutt," The radio squawked again.

"Okay Shippo, start out easy and we'll meet in the middle."

There was the distinctive grind of the gears, before the truck jerked forward. The motion caused Inuyasha's goggles to become slightly askew. Then there was the silence of the engine stalling and coming to a complete halt. Shippo shrunk down in the driver seat sheepishly. Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "Shippo!"

"Sorry Bwana…" Shippo drawled with smirk on his face and sarcastic tone. The engine restarted and they were off.

Inuyasha's gaze was searching forward. He hated the goggles he was wearing, but sand and debris in the eyes could be dangerous. But he didn't have to see, he could smell it. He could smell the open plains of the Serengeti; the tall grasses that made him sneeze in the late spring or even the dead gnu a few miles away. He loved the Serengeti. It was more a home than anywhere else had ever been. He had been to school in Tokyo for a while, but if he could read a book about it and get it over with, it suited him just fine. Besides, he hated the smell of the city. Tokyo by no means was dirty, but it smelled that way to Inuyasha's sensitive nose. Here, it was clean, open and always fresh.

The hanyou's nose twitched with the scent of unmistakable male rhino. A very pissed off male rhino at that. He briefly glanced back at the young driver and pointed off to the left. The idea was to chase the rhino and wear the fight out of him. Then the catching truck would come up alongside and put the rope on him. As simple as it sounds, it never went that easily. If Inuyasha was honest with himself, he didn't need Shippo, the truck, the wolf or even Sango high above. He could chase down the rhino on his own and capture it all by himself. But this was the way his father had done it. This was the way his father had devised so everyone, both human and demon, could be involved and no one would feel left out. This kind of hunt was a group effort and everyone had to pitch in. There were other kinds of hunts that kept the Hyena demons away from the ranch where the humans weren't allowed.

There were a lot of demons in Africa. Most of them stayed far away from humans and humans usually stayed far away from the demon tribes deep in the Serengeti and farther north in the Kalahari. Of course that's the way it was all over the world. Hanyou were still extremely rare. Inuyasha had met a few hanyou in his time in Africa. There was the lion hanyou Game Warden and there was the jackal hanyou that had worked for his father for a while. Inuyasha hadn't seen the jackal in a very long time. And the Game Warden had monthly visits to make sure everything was on the up and up. Inuyasha had to chuckle to himself. He liked Kimba. Sesshomaru had to posture and try to tell the big cat who was the top dog. Kimba fined the company several hundred thousand dollars on a trumped up charge that magically disappeared in a clerical mishap. Kimba had said later he did it just to see if the "top dog" would change his expression.

Inuyasha shook off the memory and vaguely heard muffled talking from the radio over the roar of the engine, probably Sango giving directions to Shippo from above. There was a sharp jerk of the truck to the left and the truck exited the dense grass to the open plain.

Inuyasha strained his keen eyesight through the goggles, searching for the dust cloud. It was the tell tale sign of the jeep racing over the dusty plain. Amber eyes caught sight of the plume and pointed again to Shippo. Within minutes, the old truck was trailing the chase car by a few hundred yards, and the frightened and angry rhino a length in front of the jeep.

Now the hunt was on. A slow, lazy smirk of pure glee spread over the hanyou's lips. He grasped the pole and rope. He hit the quick release of the belt holding him in the chair at the hood of the truck, planted his feet on the re-enforced bumper and launched himself forward. He hit the ground running, literally. He was running behind the chase car signaling to Koga, who smirked and also, jumped from the speeding jeep. The cars were supposed to slow and keep pace behind the demons, but Miroku kept pace with Inuyasha and Koga. Soon Inuyasha was preparing to get the noose at the end over the rhino's head and dangerous horn. At speeds close to forty miles per hour, Inuyasha and Koga were on one side of the rhino and Miroku had maneuvered the jeep on the other side. Inuyasha had an inkling of Sango and Kirara's presence high above, keeping pace with the action.

What happened next happened so fast, Inuyasha barely had time to react, let alone stop it from happening at all. The demons and jeep were dead even, with four tons of pissed off rhino being sandwiched between demon and vehicle. In the moment Inuyasha was marveling over the large creature and the fact that the horn had to be about five feet long and razor sharp at the tip, said creature reared its head towards Koga. Koga jumped straight up, leaving the horn to almost impact with Inuyasha's face. Inuyasha managed to nearly miss being impaled by ducking under the horn, but he lost his footing on the uneven ground, tumbling for a distance.

The irate hanyou was getting up dusting himself off, ready to spew a string of curses in Koga's direction when he saw the chase car had also come to a dead stop. His heart was thundering against his chest and he pushed back the goggles to get a clearer picture of the scene. Miroku was clutching his leg. Sango and Kirara were on the ground. Koga looked worried. The rhino was trotting away in triumph and all Inuyasha could think was, _"Not again! This can't happen again!"_

0 – 0 – 0

Several hours later, Koga pulled the jeep into the drive way at the main ranch house. The others had taken Miroku to the Arusha hospital to treat his wound. Old lady Kaede could heal the wound. They had gotten the bleeding to stop, and it didn't look like the rhino had gored Miroku too badly. Sango had loaded Miroku up on Kirara and taken off as quickly as possible. Shippo was driving the truck, and Inuyasha was running the hundred plus miles to Arusha behind Sango and Miroku. Koga had picked the short straw and was given the task of informing Sesshomaru.

The wolf demon pulled the hand break, letting out a deep sigh. The last thing he wanted to do was give Sesshomaru bad news. He hopped out of the jeep and headed into the house. There were no such things as locked doors in the Serengeti, so Koga barging into the back study where Sesshomaru usually took his afternoon tea was nothing new. There was a somber silence as Koga stood there, holding the door open. Sesshomaru would look up eventually and Koga wouldn't have to say anything. There was enough of Miroku's blood on Koga's clothes to get the message across.

Slowly, Sesshomaru looked up from the elegantly written letter from the Shikon Zoo. Koga had to suppress the urge to chuckle at the sight of the fearsome dog demon wearing black rimmed reading glasses. Sesshomaru may be able to pick a falcon out of the sky on a cloudy day without the aid of binoculars, but ask him to read up close, and he needed glasses. Koga hardly noticed the delicate movement of Sesshomaru's nose, "How bad?" Though Sesshomaru's expression never changed, Koga saw the emotion flash in his eyes.

"Rhino gored him pretty bad. He lost a lot of blood before we got it to stop. We dressed it the best we could and Sango was getting him to the hospital. That was five hours ago."

Ever the calm one, Sesshomaru stood from his desk, letting the letter slip onto his desk, "Let's go," And the tall dog demon strode past the worried wolf.

0 – 0 – 0

Inuyasha was leaning calmly against a wall in the hospital waiting room, although he was far from calm. Sango was sitting nervously in a chair, a small kitten like Kirara purring in her lap. Shippo was pacing back and forth seemingly in deep thought. They were all worried. This hadn't been the first time they had dealt with a pack member being gored by a rhino. There had been that young bull fighter from Barcelona when Inuyasha was young. He got the horn in his stomach. He lived, but that was the first and last season he worked for his father. There had been one other guy that had been gored, but he never walked again.

The hardest hit by rhino's had been Sango's family. Her father had been killed after being gored in the chest. Her younger brother had been trampled almost to death while trying to get a rope around a rhino's hooves. Now, Miroku had been gored in the thigh. Sango and Miroku had a love hate relationship. He loved to pester her, and she hated it, though Inuyasha knew that his two best friends were secretly hooked on each other. And she was worried that Miroku was going to become like her brother, permanently tied to a wheel chair.

Inuyasha huffed and pushed off the wall moments before Sesshomaru and Koga breezed through the doors of the small hospital.

Sesshomaru's stone stare caused Shippo to scurry off to the other side of the lobby. The brothers faced off and the elder dog demon ended the silent glaring match, "What happened?"

"Miroku was gored by a fucking rhino. That's what happened."

"I am aware of that, half breed. I would like to know how it happened," Sesshomaru's tone demanded an answer.

"Then you should ask the right fucking question, ya' stony bastard. I don't know what happened. Ask Wolf Shit, he jumped to miss the damn thing when it reared. I hit dirt and was picking rocks out'a my teeth and didn't see it happen," The hanyou pointed towards Koga.

Koga found himself nose to nose with a very unhappy looking Sesshomaru. Although, Koga thought Sesshomaru always looked unhappy, but right now he looked REALLY unhappy, "Wolf," Sesshomaru said like a curse, "_HOW_ did this happen?"

Koga took a step back from the full dog demon and put his hands up in placation, "Just like Dog Shit said. I jumped when the rhino reared at me. The mutt hit dirt. Damn rhino then reared five feet of horn towards the Catching Truck," Koga peaked around Sesshomaru to smile at Shippo, "Nice bit of driving there Kid," when he looked back at the imposing dog demon, Koga withered slightly before he stood tall. He was not going to be intimidated by Sesshomaru. It was an accident that couldn't have been prevented, "The rhino's head whipped around in the other direction to go after Miroku. The horn just clipped him. I swear it was an accident."

Sesshomaru's eyes shifted to Inuyasha briefly, who nodded, and then focused back on Koga, "Very well."

And that was the end of that. Game and wildlife capture was a hazardous business. There was always some risk involved. They all knew it. They all accepted it. They all had signed liability waivers because of it. They also had the best medical insurance money could buy. Soon after Sesshomaru's icy entrance, they all were back in their perspective places. Inuyasha leaning against a wall, acting cool and collected even though he was worried. Sango had fallen asleep in her chair with Kirara curled in her lap. Shippo was playing cards with Koga and beating him badly. Sesshomaru was blankly staring out of the window. The doors to the main hospital swung open and a short old woman in white scrubs walked out, pulling her medical mask off in the process. Everyone turned to hear her verdict, "Why did it have to be Miroku?"

Sango stood up, dislodging a very unhappy two tailed demon from her lap, "Is he alright?"

The old woman wrung the white mask in her hands, "Oh dear… Oh dear, oh dear," she walked to a chair and sat down.

Inuyasha huffed in annoyance, "Spit it out Baba…"

Kaede looked up into worried amber eyes. A soft smirk curled at the edge of her wrinkled lips. The hanyou was gruff on the outside, but he was genuinely concerned for his friend, "I ask again, Inuyasha, did it have to be Miroku?"

"It ain't like I planned it Old Woman, so tell us! Is the bozo gonna live or not?" The hanyou yelled in exasperation.

"It isn't good," Kaede looked at her hands, "If it had been one of you demons, we wouldn't be in this situation. The injury would have healed, and you would have been a little light headed for a few hours at most. Miroku, in this case, is unfortunately human. Though there was no major arterial damage, he still lost a lot of blood."

"Is that all?" Inuyasha raised a relieved eyebrow, "Sango… Give Miroku some blood and let's get out of here."

Sesshomaru shook his head. He knew exactly where the old doctor was going, "Inuyasha, I do not believe it is that simple, although, sometimes it is the simplest things that manage to slip past you."

Inuyasha growled at his brother and stepped forward. Sango was the one that put her arm up baring his way, "There has been enough blood today. You two don't need to get into it, especially not here." Watery cinnamon eyes pleaded with Inuyasha.

The inu hanyou growled low as if he was going to tear into Sesshomaru just because. Inuyasha needed to hurt something. He needed to let out the frustration and anger. But one look at Sango about to cry and Inuyasha backed away from Sesshomaru and stopped his growling, "Keh!" the hanyou turned away.

Sesshomaru, for his part understood Inuyasha's frustration. He too wanted to hurt something, specifically the rhino, but that wasn't possible at the moment. Sesshomaru wanted to allow the emotions he was feeling to escape the tight control he had on them. However, his pride wouldn't allow it. Besides, Inuyasha was upset enough for the both of them, "What human must be found to bleed dry?"

"It isn't just that Miroku's human," Sango began.

The old doctor nodded, "You are correct Ms. Sango. Miroku has is blood type O Negative. Where he can give blood to everyone, he can only receive the same blood type. Because of this, Miroku was required to donate blood every three months in case of such an accident. Whole blood does not store well, so it is separated. I have the plasma as a result and the pint from his last donation. We used the last pint of whole blood during the surgery. I can try to supplement with plasma, but that may not be enough. He needs whole blood and finding a donor with O Negative blood on such short notice is not easy."

The entire crew went silent for several moments before Inuyasha stormed out of the hospital. He couldn't stay there. There was nothing that he could do anyway. Koga went to follow, but Sesshomaru put his arm up baring his path. There was no stopping Inuyasha from his tantrum. And besides, they were a man down; Sesshomaru didn't need two of his men out for the count. Koga growled, but relented. It was for the best anyway. Inuyasha was going to go do what they all wanted to do anyway. Be angry at the world.

Inuyasha was, indeed being angry. He was pissed beyond the point of breaking. His best friend in the world was going to die and there was NOTHING he could do. So lost in his thoughts as he was walking from the hospital that Inuyasha didn't see the boy, looking lost and confused walking into the hospital. There was a thud and a crash as the two collided. The mousy boy looked up from the ground, "Oh... Excuse me."

"Watch where you're going, kid!" Inuyasha yelled, brushing himself off.

The boy blinked a few times, his eyebrows rising with dawning comprehension, "Goodness... Are you one of the Taisho Brothers? I've been looking for you for several hours. I heard you were..."

"For fucks sake, the bozo isn't even dead yet and there are people looking for his job!" Inuyasha reached down picking up the boy by his arm. Inuyasha's claws digging in and drawing a bit of blood.

The boy's eyes were wide with fear, "Oh no... You have it all wrong... " He tried to plead, "I have a message of great importance. I was sent by..."

"I don't care if you were sent by Kami to tell me the world is going to end in a cataclysm of fire and brimstone! Miroku ain't dead YET... And if you..." alarm bells started to ring in the inu hanyou's head. The blood that was oozing over his claws had a familiar twinge to it. Be it the copper content, or the distinct lack of iron, he couldn't exactly put his finger on it.

Inuyasha released the boy and set him down calmly, "What's your blood type kid?"

The messenger boy blinked in utter confusion, "Um... O negative... I think. But that isn't why I'm here," the boy tried to straighten himself out and quell his fears, "I'm here to tell you..."

The silver haired hanyou grabbed the boy again, not really caring or thinking about the message the boy had. Walking back into the hospital, Inuyasha was very much thinking about saving his best friend, "What's your name kid?"

Continuing to blink in confusion and dragging his feet a bit, "Hojo... I work for the Arusha Taxi company and I just dropped..."

Inuyasha pushed open the doors to the hospital and dragged the young taxi driver in, "BABA! I have Hobo here that will be more than willing to donate some blood," turning to the still babbling kid in his grasp and growling, "Won't you…" it wasn't a request.

Everyone still in the waiting room turned and looked at Hojo first, who seemed to shrink farther into his crisply pressed shirt. Inuyasha looked pleased as punch with himself for solving the unsolvable problem. Kaede walked calmly towards Hojo, with her hands behind her back and looked up at him, "Child do ye have O negative blood?" She asked just as calmly.

Hojo managed to release himself from Inuyasha's grasp and straighten himself up to look a little less scared, "I... I think so.. It isn't something I've had to worry about. But I would be more than happy to help if I can."

The old woman smiled and pointed, "Down that hallway and to the left. We can find out for sure, and most important, have you give a pint in order to save a dear friend."

Hojo nodded and walked down the hallway, happy to help. He stopped half way down the hallway and turned to the congregation of people, "Oh... There was a message... But I can't remember it now," he smiled, "I will make sure I tell the doctor should I remember it," he then continued down the hall.

Kaede turned to address the extremely anxious people in the waiting room, "Go... Get out of my hospital. This is a place of healing..." she turned a decisive glare towards Inuyasha, "not a place of brutality."

Shocked by her ire, the hanyou growled. Sesshomaru put a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder which instantly stopped the younger brother's growling, "We will be at the Safari bar when you have news."

The old woman nodded and walked back through the doors which led to the operating rooms. Inuyasha shrugged off Sesshomaru's hand and stomped out of the hospital. Koga shrugged and followed the brooding hanyou. Sango picked up Kirara, following slowly as well. Shippo stood next to Sesshomaru for a moment, looking up at the tall demon, "So now we wait?"

The proud countenance of the noble dog demon never broke as he looked down his nose at the young fox. Though his face never spoke of an emotion beside contempt or apathy, his gold eyes reflected the vast emotions Sesshomaru was capable of. The elder demon let out a breath, that could have been mistaken for a sigh, but Sesshomaru didn't do such things, "We do as the Doctor asks... We go," and the demon elegantly strode out of the room with the confused fox on his heals.

0 - 0 - 0

The hours ticked by at the Safari bar a few blocks from the hospital. The group of friends and family, sat with long faces around a small table. Inuyasha was on his fourth or fifth beer, he really didn't remember. Koga was about the same. Shippo was still too young to drink anything and was drinking soda pop. Sango had been drinking a never ending glass of Long Island Ice Tea. Kirara was lapping at a small bowl of Irish cream. Sesshomaru was the only one standing like a sentinel, a tea cup in his hand, staring out into the blackness of the night. The silence was deafening.

The phone rang, startling everyone in the bar. Koga and Inuyasha were at main bar, nearly salivating as the bar keep answered the phone. As soon as Inuyasha's ear twitched at the sound of Kaede's voice, he grabbed the phone, "How is he? Is he ok? Will he live? Should I come back and kick his ass? Why aren't you talking Baba?"

"If you would allow the Doctor a moment to say something, half breed, perhaps she would give you better indication of Miroku's condition," Sesshomaru snatched the phone from the hanyou with a grumble, "Speak Doctor... Mhmmm... Mhmmm... He did. You may bill us for the charges," and Sesshomaru hung up the phone and turned back to the anticipating crowd, "Miroku sat up in bed and asked the nurse to bear his child," rolling his eyes and sounding almost disappointed, "He will live. We can retrieve him in four or five days."

The collective sigh of relief was palpable and echoed throughout the bar, "Drinks all around!" Koga yelled.

"HELL YEAH!" Inuyasha chimed in. And they all drank and celebrated the fact that their friend was going to live. It was a merry moment and they reveled in that moment. Even Sesshomaru cracked a smile when Inuyasha stumbled from the bar to the truck several rounds later. They sang songs and were generally happy with life as they drove back to the farm about an hour away. Koga and Inuyasha were arm in arm as they entered the house.

"Breakfast at six!" Sango reminded.

The young fox grumbled, "Awe man... Does it have to be that early?"

"Breakfast is always that early," Sesshomaru commented as he strode off to his room.

"Yeah, yeah... " The inu hanyou waved as he pushed Koga off him, "Your room is that way Wolf Shit... " Of course the action caused the drunken Inuyasha to stumble in the other direction.

"Is not... My room is..." The wolf looked around, which caused him to wobble, "Uh... It is that way isn't it?" He laughed and stumbled off in the other direction.

Inuyasha chuckled and ping ponged his way down the hall to his room at the back of the house. It was quiet and secluded and that was the way he liked it. He opened the door and flipped on the light. He started undressing when his ears twitched on the top of his head. He had his shirt half way up over his head when her voice, like tinkling bells drifted through his brain.

"Um... Before you go any further, I should tell you that you are not alone." There was a girl, black hair flowing down her shoulder, wearing his favorite red plaid pajama's top, in his bed.


	2. The Giraffe and the Cheetah

Disclaimer - I don't own it at all... Just saying. But thanks for reading anyway.

Previously:

_Inuyasha chuckled and ping ponged his way down the hall to his room at the back of the house. It was quiet and secluded and that was the way he liked it. He opened the door and flipped on the light. He started undressing when his ears twitched on the top of his head. He had his shirt half way up over his head when her voice, like tinkling bells drifted through his brain._

_"Um... Before you go any further, I should tell you that you are not alone." There was a girl, black hair flowing down her shoulder, wearing his favorite red plaid pajama's top, in his bed._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Giraffe and the Cheetah<strong>

Inuyasha turned, pulling his shirt back down. He stared at her confused and a bit stunned. She was beautiful, like an angel from his dreams. And she looked damn good in his pajama top. He couldn't help the thought that drifted through his head and rumbled deeply in his psyche where a very guttural voice echoed "mine".

The moment was broken, when the girl sat up and continued to babble. "Your house boy was gone and I waited for you and it was getting late."

The hanyou moved closer to the bed and he just continued to stare at her stupidly. He blinked at her and tried to wrap his fuzzy drunken brain around her presence in his bed.

She smiled with a tinge of red in her cheeks, "Hi. Well I had to sleep somewhere and I didn't know what to do, so I just picked a room. Apparently, I picked yours. I hope you don't mind."

Yellow gold eyes focused as best they could. He puffed out his chest and tried to look intimidating. "Of course I mind. It's my room. Who are you?"

"Kagome Higurashi, I'm from the Shikon Zoo and I," She was talking so fast in her nervousness, that Inuyasha really couldn't understand her.

"What?"

"KA-GO-ME... Kagome Higurashi. And who are you?" She smiled.

"Keh! I'm Inuyasha Taisho. What the hell are you doing here?" Inuyasha snapped at her.

Kagome was angered slightly by his rudeness. It had been a very long day and she was extremely tired, she wasn't going to be bullied by an obviously drunk man... puppy... thing. She lifted her chin and with all the bravado she could muster, Kagome told him what for, "Trying to get some sleep."

"Well no shit... I meant what the hell are you doing here? As in why are you in my house at all? Are you stupid or something?"

Kagome pursed her lips, scowling at him,"You didn't expect me?"

"I sure didn't," the hanyou stepped forward a little more and started to poke at the bed. Inuyasha wanted to make sure she was real. His fuzzy brain and her rudeness at displacing him for the evening, caused him to check the validity of her existence.

"Hey!" Kagome protested, scooting away from him, "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you're real."

Kagome batted his hand away and crossed her arms over her chest, turning her head in a huff, "I am very real," the way he was slurring slightly she could tell he was rather tipsy, "and you've been drinking a little."

Inuyasha straightened with a wobble and a smirk, "No Ma'am... I've been drinking a lot..."

Just then, Shippo came barging in through the opened door. The teenager was also very tired and the exhaustion was very much like inebriation at this late hour. The fox demon looked right at Kagome and started talking as if he was talking to Inuyasha, "Inuyasha... I want to talk to you about tomorrow morning. Don't you think that six o'clock is a little..."

The taller inu hanyou tapped the shorter teen on the shoulder. Shippo turned and looked up at Inuyasha and went right into his speech, "Inuyasha, I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow..." The boy stopped mid sentence and turned to look at Kagome, blinking a few times before looking back to Inuyasha, "Inuyasha... Is there's someone in your bed?"

"Yes there is," Inuyasha answered, "What did you want to say to me, Shippo?"

Shippo stared at Kagome, who smiled nervously. For his part, Shippo couldn't really believe that there was anyone in Inuyasha's bed, let alone a girl, "I wanted to say something very important, but I can't remember what it is. Who is she?"

"I don't know," Inuyasha swayed a little.

"What's she doing here?"

"I don't know."

Kagome tried not to giggle at the two. She opened her mouth to say something, but it was interrupted by a loud bellow that preceded a very handsome wolf demon that breezed into the room, "Dog shit! Do you have some..." Koga took one look at Kagome and was instantly in love, but the wolf knew when not to ask stupid questions, "Oh... excuse me, I didn't expect..."

"He doesn't know who she is," Shippo continued to watch Kagome, confused by the sight of a girl in Inuyasha's bed.

Koga stopped his back track out of the room, and gazed at Kagome just as curiously, "Well why is she in his bed?"

"He doesn't know that either," Shippo blinked stupidly at Kagome.

"I didn't say that!" Inuyasha huffed angrily.

Koga turned with a small stumble, "Then what DID you say?"

"I don't know," The hanyou grumbled.

"That's exactly what you said," Shippo giggled.

"What?" The fuzz in Inuyasha's brain wasn't clearing and this was doing nothing but confusing him more.

"I don't know," the teen fox shrugged.

Inuyasha growled at the boy, "Well if you didn't know, why did you say so?!"

"Wait, wait... You get me all mixed up," Koga waved his hands, like he was trying to clear the air, "You said..."

"Look Koga... You don't listen... Let's just start from the beginning," Shippo said tiredly. The three males turned to Kagome who was stifling a giggle.

She let out a sigh, placing her hands in her lap politely, "Please, please... I had a long hard trip and I would like to get some sleep. Wouldn't you?"

"Keh... I certainly would," The hanyou turned to grab a blanket from his closet.

Koga grumbled, "No, no, no... I wanna get to the bottom of this. What are you, and who are you doing in Inuyasha's bed?"

Kagome snuggled down into the bed, "Couldn't we just leave the whole thing until tomorrow morning?"

Shippo nodded, "I think the lady is right. We can face it with clear eyes and clear heads."

Koga blinked and wobbled a bit as he turned to leave, "She is right. Good night."

Shippo backed out of Inuyasha's room, continuing to stare stupidly at Kagome. He didn't turn until he backed into the door frame, "Good night," he nodded to Kagome, "Good night Inuyasha," Shippo added before disappearing out the door and down the hall.

Inuyasha had his blanket in his hand as he was stomping out of the room. Kagome smiled, "Thank you for the use of your room."

"PFT! Didn't have much of a choice, did I?" He wobbled as he was reaching to turn off the light, missing the first time, but getting it on the second try. "Clear heads, clear minds, remember? Sheesh... Good night," the angry hanyou stomped into the living room where he slept on the couch.

Kagome smiled, "Good night," and she settled down, snoring lightly within moments.

0 - 0 - 0

The next morning, there was a plop, plop and fizz of bicarbonate hitting a glass of water and Inuyasha growled at the noise that made his head pound even more, "Could ya' keep it down?"

Koga downed the concoction, "Fuck you Dog Shit. It ain't my fault you drank so damn much."

Holding out a shaking coffee cup to Koga, Inuyasha grumbled, "Just fill the damn cup Wolf Shit."

Koga was precariously filling Inuyasha's cup with black coffee when the cheery eyed teen fox came strolling into the dining room, slapping Inuyasha on the back as he entered, "Morning! Good morning!"

Both Inuyasha and Koga grumbled and growled their greetings at Shippo. The boy in question, picked up a plate and started loading it with various breakfast items, making comments as he did, "Mmmm... Bacon and eggs, hash browns, and cod fish cakes, deep fried in antelope fat. My favorite. What a way to start the morning!" The boy paused for a moment while he sat down at the table, "What? Isn't anyone else eating?"

"Keh, shut up Runt, or go away," grumbled Inuyasha.

"Preferably, both," groaned Koga, holding his head.

Silently, without anyone noticing, Sesshomaru had entered as well, tea cup already in his hand, "I do not understand how you can sleep as little as you do, and still be as exuberant."

Shippo shrugged and started to eat, "I'm still young."

There was blessed silence for a very brief moment before the teen started to chatter as he ate, "We sure had a big night last night. You two... Oh man," Shippo laughed with a mouth full of hash brown, "You two were SO drunk. I didn't drink anything and I thought I was seeing things. You know I thought I saw a girl in Inuyasha's room last night."

"You saw a girl," Koga stated matter of fact.

There was a brief pause in Sesshomaru's tea cup and an elegantly sculpted eyebrow lifted in amusement, or confusion, no one noticed to tell the difference. Shippo stopped mid bite and blinked at Koga, "That's what I said, I thought I saw a girl in Inuyasha's room."

Koga nodded, "Shippo, you did see a girl."

The stunned Shippo blinked again, "I did?"

"You did, now shut up," Koga took a sip of his coffee.

Shippo smiled and took another bite of his breakfast, "Well good, now I don't feel so bad," the boy paused and turned to Koga, "well... Who was she?"

Koga shrugged, "I don't know."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Don't start that again."

"Start what again?" Shippo asked confused.

"I don't know!" The inu hanyou growled.

"Well," Shippo put down his fork and pointed to Koga, "But Inuyasha... He just said there was a girl in your room."

"Keh! Shut up Shippo, drop it."

"Good morning everybody!" Sango came into the dinning room, carrying several cases. She set the cases on the table, "Look what I found in the entry hall," she opened one of the cases.

Inuyasha stuck his nose in the case, "What is it?"

"Cameras, lenses, a real professional outfit," Sango pulled out one of the very expensive cameras to show everyone at the table.

The hanyou scratched at an ear, confused, "A professional?"

Shippo blinked up at Sango, "Photographer?"

Koga smirked at Inuyasha over his coffee cup, "Your roommate."

Sesshomaru didn't skip a beat, "I received a letter from the Shikon Zoo. They are sending a photographer to document the captures this season."

Inuyasha slammed a fist against the table, "And you didn't think it was important to tell anyone?"

"I am telling you now," Sesshomaru said as a means of ending the issue.

Inuyasha mumbled something about "stoney bastards" and sipped at his coffee. Shippo suddenly felt the need to be silent as he ate. Sango had a slight smirk on her face when she looked at Inuyasha, "Yasha, what did they mean by your "roommate"?"

"Keh... " Inuyasha grouched, "The girl that was in my bed last night."

Sango's eyes lit up like it was about time, "Inuyasha!"

"Well I didn't know her!"

Sango blinked and looked slightly confused, "Well what was she doing in your bed?"

The inu hanyou let out an exasperated sigh, "I don't know..."

Koga groaned, running a hand down his tired looking face.

"I believe her name is..." Sesshomaru started.

"Kagome Higurashi," Kagome intoned lightly, finishing off Sesshomaru's sentance. She smiled up at them "Good morning everyone."

There were murmurs of "morning" from everyone else at the table, with the exception of Sesshomaru, who said nothing and sipped at his tea. Inuyasha, stared dumbly for a moment before he shook off his momentary stupidity. Koga stood so fast he nearly knocked over his chair. Shippo also stood and smiled goofily at the photographer.

Kagome smiled at Inuyasha and took a few tentative steps into the dining room, "I don't think I've met everyone."

"I guess we should introduce ourselves," the teen fox smiled. "I'm Shippo. They tell me we met last night."

Kagome giggled, putting a hand over her mouth, "I remember you. Nice to meet you Shippo," Kagome smiled.

Koga took Kagome's hand and kissed it ever so softly, "I am Koga Okami."

The girl smiled politely, but pulled her hand away from Koga, "Oh... I know you, I covered the Le Mans a few years ago. You should have won the race, but that crash, too bad."

"Yeah, well there is always next year, but I need to find someone with a car," Koga chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"I will never understand the need to speed around a track, but he walked away from it," Sesshomaru let his gaze slide to Koga for a brief moment, "Pitty," he seemed to be dissapointed at the thought. He turned back to Kagome with that same blank, unreadable expression, "I am Sesshomaru. I do not race around a track." The dog demon just stared at Kogome icily.

Kagome smiled a bit nervously and was trapped in the middle of them. Sango reached out and pulled Kagome out of the triangle of canines, "I'm Sango, don't mind them. They get a little... Well they're male... and they're canine... So it gets a little intense sometimes when they want to determine who's the top dog."

"I am not a dog!" Koga protested.

"I don't want to be on top." Shippo mentioned through a mouthful of codfish cakes.

"Keh!" Inuyasha snorted.

Sesshomaru, glared and walked back to his spot near the window, sipping on his tea.

Sango let out a sigh and shook her head, "Koga, Sesshomaru... Could you please give me a hand with the truck? It's spitting again and I need someone a little stronger than I am to get it up on the blocks to check the engine."

Koga shrugged and Sesshomaru nodded, both following Sango out of the dining room, leaving Inuyasha and Shippo with Kogome. "Would you like some breakfast?" The teen blushed and gestured to the grandiose spread of food on the table.

"Oh... No thank you, just some tea if you have some," She smiled and took a seat at the table, where Koga had been next to Inuyasha. Shippo immediately poured the woman some tea, setting it down in front of her.

Inuyasha grumbled, sitting down at the table next to her, "Ms. Higurashi..."

"Kagome, Please," she smiled and sipped at her tea.

"Kagome," Her name made things stir in him that Inuyasha hadn't even thought about in years, but he pushed those thoughts aside and got to the point, "So you wanna follow us around and take pictures. No offence Woman, but I don't think that's such a good idea."

Kagome blinked at Inuyasha slightly confused and a little upset, "But I'm one of the best in the business."

"Look, I don't care if you're the best in the world. The point is,.."

Kagome set down her cup and glared at Inuyasha, "Is it because I'm a woman?"

The inu hanyou narrowed his eyes at her, "Well... That's part of it, yes."

"You should find out what kind of a woman I am before you make snap judgments," She shot back at him.

"I wish I had the time, but I don't."

"What about Sango, she goes out with you all the time," This was not what Kagome wanted to hear. She was the best. She had been all over the world photographing animals, races, wars and people since she was a little girl. She wasn't going to let some posturing puppy boy tell her no.

"Sango was raised out here. She knows how to track as well as anyone except Me and Sesshomaru and she can drive just as good except for Koga. And she's a damn good shot, probably better than Miroku, but don't you dare tell her, or him that I said that. So the answer is still no. You aren't going with us. I don't have time..."

"To take care of an amateur, I get that," Kagome sighed.

Inuyasha sighed along with her, "Have you ever taken a camping trip?"

"No..." She shook her head.

"Have you ever shot a rifle?"

Kagome shrunk into her chair a bit, looking extremely meek and fragile, "No I haven't."

"Then what good are ya?!" The hanyou stood, "we're a man down and the last thing we need is some green around the gills city girl mucking up the system."

Inuyasha was about to storm off when Kagome stood up, her eye hidden behind her bangs, "I am sorry that I came at a bad time, and I really hate to do this but," she pulled a letter from her pocket, handing it to Inuyasha.

Shippo's ears perked up after sitting at the table silently eating, "Uh oh... I think the boom is about to be lowered."

Inuyasha ripped open the letter and started to read. When he was done he stepped up into Kagome's face and just glared at her, "Keh, you aint going... And that's final. I don't give a damn about what the Shikon Zoo says. I wont have you in our way and possibly getting killed."

Kagome stepped back, "I'm sorry, but that is the way the zoo wants it. No pictures... They don't purchase the animals, and most of your season is ruined."

"KEH!" Inuyasha turned and stomped out of the room just to the doorway, "How long will it take to get your pictures?"

Kagome blinked up at him, "As long as it takes for you to catch the animals. I'm ready to start when you are. "

"Well that's a funny looking work outfit, but what ever works for you. We're ready to start now." He turned to look over his shoulder at her.

Kagome looked over her professional white blouse, black skirt and sensible pumps, "You won't give me five minutes to change?"

Inuyasha was about to tell her she could sit this trip out when Shippo stood from the table, "Oh, I can wait for her for a few minutes."

"Thank you Shippo. I'll be right back," Kagome smiled and dashed out of the dining room.

Shippo smiled at Inuyasha, "I can catch up with you Inuyasha."

The inu hanyou groaned, running a hand down his tired looking face.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" The teen inquired.

"Keh! I don't know." Inuyasha drawled out, walking into the front of the house.

Shippo let out a sigh and shrugged, "He don't know, nobody knows anything," he started to make himself a small snack to take with him.

0 - 0 - 0

A few minutes later, Inuyasha was standing at the gun cabinet, pulling out a rifle when Koga walked up beside him. "Where are we going today?"

"About two hours south to Manyara. Should be some medium size giraffe out there," Inuyasha handed Koga one of the rifles and they started to walk out the front door.

Shippo came around the corner nearly skipping, his pack in one hand and Kagome's photography gear in the other. He was humming along, walking out to the car when Inuyasha stopped him, "Are you gonna carry her stuff for her too? Don't start in by spoiling her," he barked and continued to walk out of the house.

"Yes Bwanna," Shippo rolled his eyes and set Kagome's gear down. The teen walked out of the house and stood to watch the rest of the crew get into the catching car and the flat bed truck.

Inuyasha climbed into the catching car with Koga, "All set Sango? Sesshomaru?"

"All set!" Sango nodded from behind the wheel of the flat bed truck. Sesshomaru simply rolled his eyes.

Inuyasha turned back to Shippo, "Don't wait all day for her Shippo."

"Yes Bwanna," Shippo drawled, falling to his knees and bowing. Sango stifled a giggle. Koga out right laughed.

Inuyasha growled lowly at Shippo and sat in the catching car with his arms crossed, "Head on out!" he barked, and with that they were off, leaving Shippo in a dusty cloud as they sped away.

The teen stood and waited a few more minutes for the girl, "Come on Kagome, let's go!".

"Can you grab my stuff please Shippo?" Her voice carried from the side of the house.

Shippo looked to make sure that Inuyasha and the others were gone, before he ran back into the main house and collected her camera bags. He rushed out to the truck, yelling as he was gently tossing her gear into the truck, "All aboard!".

He was getting into the truck when a hurried Kagome came out of the house, in just a very red button up shirt, a pair of boots, a white hat and carrying her khaki pants in her hand, "I'm coming!" she yelled as she sprinted to the truck.

Shippo couldn't do anything but stare stupidly. The girl had legs that went on forever. They started at the ground and disappeared under the tails of the red shirt. He kept staring as she got into the truck. Kagome smiled and hopped into the seat closing the door as she got in. She was trying to put her pants on when she turned that lovely smile to Shippo. The teen couldn't do anything but smile idiotically back at her, unconsciously starting the engine to the truck, "Hi."

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," she got one leg into her pants when she looked up at Shippo, "Aren't we going?"

The boy nodded dumbly and put the truck in gear and started out slowly, still staring at Kagome, "Uh huh."

"So where are we going today?"

"Yeah... " He wasn't paying attention to anything but those creamy legs on the dashboard.

"Look out!" Kagome screamed.

There was a thud, crunch and crash of the truck when they hit a crate that was set just outside of a fence. Kagome looked at Shippo, who was bright red, "S-sorry about that."

Kagome giggled lightly, "Let's just go, okay?"

"Yeah," He threw the truck into reverse, backing away from the crushed crate and then they were off to Manyara.

0 - 0 - 0

Two hours, some spectacular views, and at least one memory card later, they were all sitting at the side of the road, binoculars in hand, looking over the herd of giraffe grazing a few hundred yards away. Inuyasha handed his binoculars to Koga, "There's a few good ones in there. Not too big, not too small. We'll get one here. How does the ground seem to you?" he hopped out of the chasing car and walked to the catching truck.

Koga scratched at his chin before pointing off in the distance, "Not the greatest. There's some gullies over that rise. It's gonna be a rough ride."

"Well stick around and hold him if I miss the first time around," the hanyou pulled out a long wooden pole and rope from the truck and started to tie a noose at the end of the rope.

Kagome had gotten out of the truck, "Hey Inuyasha," she pointed to the bed of the truck that had been fitted with a cage of sorts for people to stand, "Is it okay if I stand up there?"

"You better stay inside. That ground is pretty rough, you might get knocked around," he grunted and finished the noose.

"It will be alright," she smiled, "I like to be where I can move around," and she climbed into the back of the truck.

He looked up at her a bit stunned, "Well... You'll move around alright," he looked to the three other hands standing in the back of the truck and barked a few commands that Kagome couldn't understand.

She huffed and stomped her foot, "What did you say to them?"

"I told them to take care of you," Inuyasha said, forcing the blush off his cheeks.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, "You tell them I can take care of my self," she nodded her head in finality.

Inuyasha sighed, "You heard the lady, she can take care of her self... Maybe."

The three extra hands chuckled lightly, and made room for Kagome. Sesshomaru stepped up next to Inuyasha, "I will be handling the rope."

Inuyasha turned to his older brother and stared at him curiously. Then it dawned on Inuyasha what the elder dog demon was doing. Inuyasha nodded, "Fine... Just don't screw up."

"This Sesshomaru knows how to handle the rope. You, Half Breed, need work on handling that pole," The taller Sesshomaru turned and jumped into the back of the truck with ease.

The hanyou growled at his older brother, not knowing if the jibe was hinting to something completely different, but Inuyasha wasn't going to rise to the insult right now, "Keh!"

Inuyasha sat in the seat at the front of the truck, buckling himself in. He lowered his goggles and turned back to Shippo, "You pick me a big one again Shippo, and I will knock you into next week."

Shippo nodded from inside the truck, "Yes Bwanna, I'll be very careful Bwanna."

"Start out easy," Inuyasha gestured to head out.

They did start out slowly as the car and truck approached the herd. Kagome loved the feel of the wind in her face and she took a moment to appreciate the wind on her cheeks. Sesshomaru stared at her, in that cold analytical way that he did. It was extremely unnerving to her, but she wasn't going to let it get to her. She thought the best thing to do was to pepper him with questions, "Why don't you catch the big ones?"

Sesshomaru kept his eyes on her for a moment and then faced into the wind, "The last large giraffe the fox chose tried to climb into Inuyasha's lap. Shippo believed the giraffe was coming through the windshield, and when the boy ducked, they hit a demon ant hill," he shook his head, he may even have sighed, but that could have just been the wind in Kagome's ears, "I do so detest Ant Demons in Africa."

Kagome nodded her head, "Oh... " She knew there were other demons all over the world. They were becoming more scarce as the years went on, but out in the wilds of Africa, they were more prevalent. The wide open spaces, readily available food supplies, and lack of humans were the best place for them. Yes there were demons in the cities, but usually they were loners, or lived in tight knit groups. They had their own rules and laws, but when there was an attack on humans, those demons were dealt with quickly.

She sighed and was jerked out of her thoughts when the truck hit a bump that knocked her to the bed of the truck. Kagome yelped and tried to stand back up and was knocked to the bed of the truck again. Each time she tried to get up, there was a yelp, a bump and she was back on her ass. Finally, Sesshomaru's voice boomed over the wind and engine noise, "You best stay there."

She didn't argue with him. She sat with her back against the cab of the truck, holding on for dear life. It was over within a matter of minutes. The truck started to slow down and Kagome could barely hear Inuyasha yelling, "Slow down easy! DAMN IT Shippo, easy!"

The truck came to a stop, and suddenly as they had stopped, everyone except her and Shippo was out of the truck. Kagome peeked around the side of the truck to see what was going on. There was a medium sized giraffe, couldn't have been more than a few years old with a few ropes around it. The "triplets" as Kagome had named them, were helping Inuyasha hold down the giraffe. Koga was with Sesshomaru getting the crate off the flat bed truck. They were a well oiled machine and it was in that moment that she realized Inuyasha had been right.

She knew absolutely nothing about being out in the wilds of Africa. She could drive, but not at the speeds they were going and certainly not with any confidence over that rough terrain. Kagome didn't even want to think about needing a gun to keep herself safe. She was about to cry when Inuyasha walked to the side of the truck and was smirking like a cat that had just eaten the canary, "So did you have enough room to move around?"

Her eyes narrowed and she stood up, hopping off the bed of the truck. Kagome stuck her nose in the air, opening the door to the truck and practically slamming it in his face. She kept her eyes towards Shippo and wouldn't look at Inuyasha.

"Perfect... Just perfect," The hanyou mumbled and got back into the jeep with Koga.

0 - 0 - 0

The way back to the ranch house was a silent affair. Shippo didn't talk, and neither did Kagome. She spent most of the time jotting notes in a journal that had been amongst her gear. Another two hours and they were back at the house. Kagome couldn't wait to get out of that truck, and she was seriously thinking about just packing it up and going home. But she couldn't do that. She had a job to do, and she was going to do the job if it killed her.

Sango was the one that opened the door to the truck and helped Kagome out. She was sore all over and just wanted to sleep. Sango smiled sympathetically, "How you feeling?"

Kagome stretched a little, "Just terrible," she groaned, "I feel sore all over."

Sango nodded, "It takes time to get used to it, but for now, nothing a hot bath wont cure. Come on, we'll get a bath going."

The photographer smiled and started to follow Sango into the house. The men folk were unloading the giraffe, when Kagome stopped for a moment, turning to the boys, "I just want to say something. You may not think so, but I had a great day today. But I made a fool of myself and I apologize to all of you for that," She bowed politely, "I would like to stay if you would let me," straitening she pouted slightly, "but if you tell me to go, I'll go. Just forget about the letter I showed you. Thank you for listening," She turned and walked into the house rather gingerly.

Sango shrugged and followed Kagome.

The boys looked at each other as if waiting for the other to say something. Shippo was the one that sighed and broke the silence, "So who is going to tell her to go?"

Inuyasha laughed, "Pick one... Rhino, elephant, buffalo, any of them are gonna scare her away."

Koga just scratched his chin as if he didn't believe she was going to scare that easily. Sesshomaru said nothing and turned to shout orders at the triplets. Shippo was staring into the house in deep thought.

"Keh! If that's the way ya want it, fine... She can stay, but the moment she gets hurt because you let her stay, its on you," he said as he stomped angrily into the house. But even his bark didn't have the bite it normally had. It was almost as if he was trying to convince himself that he liked the idea of having her around.

0 - 0 - 0

The water felt good against her skin. The heat seeped into her sore muscles and soothed away the day that had been so rough on her. It had been about twenty minutes or more and the water was finally loosing its heat. The photographer let out a sigh and was beginning to rouse from the pleasant hot water induced semi slumber when she heard the door click. Having a younger brother at home, Kagome was used to having to share a bathroom, and her senses were honed to prevent her little brother from interrupting anything private.

The door to the bathroom creaked open slightly. About halfway up the door a black nose poked through the space, followed by a large yellow head with black ears. Soon, a cheetah had pushed through the door and was standing in the center of the bathroom, her tail swishing behind her curiously. The large cat padded towards the bathtub on silent paw investigating the new smell in the house.

Kagome sat up from her lounging position in the tub to see just who had intruded into her very private bath time. On sight of the cheetah Kagome screamed, "HELP!" The girl stood in the tub, covering herself with a towel that she grabbed off the rack not far from the tub.

"HELP!" She yelled again as the cheetah padded closer, purring gently. Kagome kept very still and tried not to bolt from the tub. The cheetah came within inches of Kagome, snaking out her pink tongue and licking the water droplets from the photographer's leg. Kagome squealed, but still didn't move.

Seconds later, a nervous Shippo burst through the door of the bathroom. His eyes became very large at the sight of the cheetah standing next to Kagome. Without really thinking about it, Shippo grabbed a bath stool and put himself between Kagome and the cheetah, poking the legs of the stool at the cheetah, "BACK!"

The cheetah took notice of Shippo and the stool. The large cat seemed to snicker as she ignored both and tried to walk around Shippo and the stool to continue her investigation of Kagome. Kagome squeaked and stepped back in the tub which caused Shippo to poke the stool at the cheetah again.

Inuyasha had also heard the girl scream and had made a mad dash for the bathroom. At the door, Inuyasha stood there for a split second trying not to burst into hysterical laughter. He watched the scene and didn't know if he needed to save Kagome, or the cheetah, "What in the seven hells is going on here?"

Sesshomaru appeared behind Inuyasha, wondering what all the commotion was about. The dog demon seemed amused, but the stone cold expression never gave anything away, "Shippo, you should not tease the animals in such a way. This Sesshomaru will not stop them from eating you. Sonia," the cheetah turned her head in Sesshomaru's direction, "return to your den for the evening," his tone was commanding, even Kagome had to resist the urge to just go to her room and go to bed.

The cheetah turned sad eyes to Kagome as if she were disappointed before walking out of the bathroom, flicking her tail in the elder dog demon's direction.

"She told you Fluffy," the younger hanyou snickered.

"Hmph," Sesshomaru growled lightly at Inuyasha and walked away.

Inuyasha shook his head and looked at the two still in the bathroom., "What in the world were you trying to do Shippo?"

The teen fox set down the stool and pointed to Kagome, "Well she screamed and I came running. When I saw the cheetah..."

Shippo rambled on for a few more moments, but it was in those few moments, Kagome's fear turned to embarrassment. A few seconds later that embarrassment turned to red faced anger.

"Shippo you idiot, you know better than to..." - SPLAT -there was a very loud sound of a wet towel that hit Inuyasha square in the face. The towel slid down his face and all he could see was this angry goddess. Once again, this inner beast reared up inside him growling possessively and echoing "mine" in his head. The hanyou chose to shake out the water in his ear, rather than act on the sudden need to mount her, "THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, BITCH?!"

"GET OUT!" Kagome stood in the tub, holding the one towel around her and another wet towel in her other hand at the ready, "AND STAY OUT!" The second towel went flying in Shippo's direction.

Shippo side stepped the towel, nearly tripping over the chair, scurrying out the door with a, "Yes Ma'am!" as he left.

Inuyasha growled, starring at Kagome almost challenging her to toss her last towel at him, "KEH! Nothing impressive to see anyway," he walked out, slamming the door behind him. He kept a firm grip on the door knob for several second trying to figure out what the hell was going on in his head. He had seen women before. He had been with women before, but none seemed to fluster him or infuriate him as much as she did. What was worse, is that he was highly turned on by it. He slowly let go of the door and walked off to his room.

The moment the door clicked shut, Kagome had to cover her mouth to contain the laughter. It took her a few seconds to stop giggling and get out of the tub. She towled off and made it safely to her room to dress without further incident.

0 - 0 - 0

Kagome finished dressing and wondered out into the common living area of the lavish ranch house. It was interesting how the house was built using a traditional Japanese style, a square type configuration with a large patio and garden area in the center. She stayed in the garden area listening to the soft jazz music coming from the common living room area. It seemed so lived in and open. She danced in a "slow, slow, fast, fast, slow" walk towards the living room, before she found some lounge chairs on the back porch that looked extremely inviting.

Lounging perfectly on one of the chairs was the cheetah that had invaded her bathroom earlier in the evening. The large cat gazed up at her, green eyes glowing in the lamp light.

"Hello Sonia," the photographer waved with a nervous smile.

The cheetah rumbled a purr in response and didn't move from the chair. Kagome approached and sat in the lounger next to the predatory cat, extending the back of her hand in greeting to the cheetah. Sonia took a few tentative sniffs and licked the back of Kagome's hand, a deep rumble emanating from the large cat.

Kagome smiled and moved her hand slowly to scratch behind Sonia's ears. Sonia took the opportunity to rub her head into Kagome's hand, "Oh," she said in surprise, when the cat moved.

Sonia sat there and enjoyed the attention from Kagome, rumbling her purr of approval. It was a very quiet and peaceful moment. Until...

"Why don't you go inside and join the fun?" Inuyasha stated calmly as he was walking through the garden heading towards the office at the back of the house.

Kagome kept her hand steadily petting the cat as she answered him, "I don't belong in there and besides, I've had all the fun I can take for one day. I have bangs and bumps and bruises on every part of my body from top to bottom," she sat up a little and looked at him seriously, "And I had a bath... With a cheetah and three demons," she sat back in the lounger, "So I think I'll just sit for a while."

Inuyasha tried not to smirk and gave Kagome the best emotionless expression he could, "About that not belonging, they decided you can stick around."

Kagome perked up and smiled at him, "Oh that's wonderful. I'm glad of that because..." she paused for a moment and thought about what he said. Her eyes narrowed, "You said "they"? Does that mean you voted against me?"

"I told you I thought you'd be a pain in the ass," He said matter of fact.

"And I was a pain in the ass today, wasn't I?"

"That you were. At least you knew it," He nodded at her, "That was a nice speech, but I don't think you'll be able to talk your way out of it again," He turned and walked away.

Kagome let out a small sigh as she watched Inuyasha walk in to the back part of the house. She assumed he was going off to bed, but she wasn't sure. Kagome relaxed a little and continued to pet and stroke Sonia who was basking in the attention, next to her. She listened to the music with a soft smile and started to hum lightly to the tune playing on the radio.

It was a few minutes later when Shippo was walking out towards his room, polishing off a bottle of soda. He turned to the sound of Kagome's humming and walked over to the chairs, "Hi... Want some company?"

Kagome blinked and looked up at Shippo, "Oh, sure why not."

The cheetah looked up at Shippo and snorted before she hopped out of the chair and trotted off to other parts of the house. The teen saluted and gave a slight bow to the cheetah as she walked by, "Why thank you Sonia," turning back to Kagome he smiled, "Would you like something to drink?"

She shook her head, "No thank you, please just sit and talk to me."

The teen sat and relaxed in the chair, taking a swig of the soda in his hand, "So what should we talk about?"

Kagome looked at him with a sad smile, "I don't know, just talk to me."

"Then, how about we talk about my favorite subject," The boy smiled, "Me."

Kagome laughed and nodded her head, "Alright Shippo," She adjusted her self in the lounger so she could look at Shippo as she peppered him with questions, "I noticed today when everyone was jumping around to get this giraffe, you were in the truck just laughing. Why?"

The teen just smiled, "Because the giraffe was out there."

The photographer looked at the boy with a raised eyebrow, "But why?"

"A giraffe has spots. A zebra has stripes and a lion is all one color."

Kagome still didn't understand, "What are you talking about?"

"Kagome, if an animal has spots, stripes, or is all one color, any color, I don't go near them."

She laughed a little, "Oh, you don't like animals."

"No, I love animals, I'm just scared of them mostly and they know it. So the farther away from them I am, the better."

"I guess that makes sense. But Shippo, you were driving along side of those giraffe like it was nothing."

Shippo laughed, "What color are giraffe?"

Although Kagome was confused, but she played along, "Mostly yellow, but what does that have to do with it?"

The boy smirked, "What color is a New York taxi cab?"

"Mostly yellow I guess," the photographer blinked a few times, still slightly confused.

"My father used to drive a cab in New York. He used to take me to work with him when he could. So I just pretend its rush hour, and I don't notice that the stampeding herd is animals. I think of them as other cabs racing my Dad for the same fair," the boy sighed softly, "Its how I remember him."

The girl smiled and touched Shippo's arm soothingly, "I'm sorry."

Shippo waved her off, "Don't be. It was a long time ago and though I miss him, he's still with me every time I drive at ludicrous speeds over open terrain," he smiled at her.

She laughed, "You people are all crazy."

The boy nodded in agreement, "Now let me ask you something, you said earlier that you had a great day, what did you mean by that?"

A bright smile came over Kagome's face as she answered the boy's question, "Everything really. The car going so fast, the animals running, there was so much adrenaline and just so much excitement. It seems like an exciting way to make a living, crazy maybe, but exciting," she paused for a moment and looked thoughtful, "Shippo, tell me about these people, where do they come from?"

"Well what do you know?" Shippo rubbed the back of his neck.

"You don't work around a zoo for very long without hearing about the Taisho Brothers, or Inu Taisho. But besides what I could find in newspaper clippings, not a whole lot."

Shippo nodded, "Seems like you got the standard package which doesn't come with much. Yasha and Sesshomaru were pretty much raised here. The Ice King went back to Japan the minute he was old enough, but came back the second he found out that his father was dead. Those two make it look like they don't get along, but the truth is," Shippo scooted in to whisper, "Those two secretly like each other."

Kagome giggled silently behind her hand, "Continue."

"Sessho can look mean and talk mean, but he's a big softy. Don't you dare tell him I said that though, he'd kill me. Then there's Koga, but you already know about him. Sango's family came from Japan with the Taisho's. Then there's Miroku," The boy paused to chuckle a little, "Miroku is... Well he's Miroku. Parents didn't know what to do with him so they shipped him off to Africa to give him space to find himself. He found the first woman he could, and more than likely he got slapped."

Kagome blinked at Shippo, "Why would he get slapped?"

"Because he's a letch. Oh, so you have fair warning, he will try to grab your girly bits and he will try to ask you to bare his child. If he asks, just turn him down politely and walk away. Should he grab your girly bits, slap him and he'll never do it again, unless you're Sango. But I think he does it to her because he likes her, and she secretly likes it," the boy thought for a moment, "Or likes slapping him, I really don't know."

Kagome chuckled a bit, "I will keep that in mind," She took in a deep breath, "Shippo, why doesn't Inuyasha like women?"

The boy was stunned, "Why doesn't he like women?" He blinked several times and tilted his head a bit, going on the defensive to uphold his friend's honor, "Kagome, you are the victim of a gross misunderstanding. Inuyasha does, in fact, like women."

"Yes, Shippo I get that too, but why doesn't he like women?"

"Are you talking about him being rude and obnoxious?"

The photographer nodded, "Yes."

Shippo let out a loud guffaw and it took a moment for him to stop laughing, "Kagome, he's that way with EVERYONE. Miroku and I take the brunt of MOST of it. Koga provokes him on purpose, so Miroku and I will stay out of the line of fire between them. And Sesshomaru can hold his own against Inuyasha. He got burned once, so he keeps his distance. Its a defense really."

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense. Wait, burned? Burned by who?" she blinked at Shippo curiously.

The boy rolled his eyes, "Well, Inuyasha almost got married once. He had fallen in love while he was at college in Tokyo. He brought her back here and that didn't go so well. She hated the place, she hated the humans, the demons, the animals, and everything. She tried to convince Inuyasha to leave. One night they had a huge fight and she got on her broom stick and rode on out of here. Since then he just kind of gave up on relationships in general."

Kagome nodded, "She was a fool."

Shippo smirked, looking at Kagome with a hopeful twinkle in his eye, "You like it here don't you?"

She let out a sigh and stared at her hands in her lap, "Yeah, I like it. I'm liable to like it a little too much."

The boy let out a sigh and shook his head, "Inuyasha has a way," he mumbled, "You sure got it in a hurry didn't you?"

There was a red tinge in her cheeks when she smiled thinking about the silvered haired puppy boy, "Shippo, tell me about him."

"Well, how does he treat you?"

"You saw us all day," she tilted her head.

"That was working. You were with him a few minutes ago. Was he nice to you?"

Kagome's lips pursed and she snapped at Shippo, "No, he wasn't very nice at all."

Shippo's eyes twinkled mischievously, "Could be that you're in."

"What do you mean?" The photographer raised an eyebrow.

"Well I mean that's good. If it were the other way around, if he were nice to you, then you wouldn't have a prayer," the boy nodded with a smirk playing on his lips.

"Shippo," Kagome was confused again by this teenage boy that seemed to have knowledge and wisdom beyond his years, "For heavan's sake, would you speak a language I can understand. If its bad it's good, if its good its bad. Make sense."

Shippo waved at her to keep her voice down. Dogs had a way of hearing things, and the last thing he wanted a certain inu hanyou to know was that he was giving away the secrets to his heart, "Look Kagome, all I'm saying is that when a man falls for a woman and gets his fingers burned, so he wont get singed again, what does he do?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, tell me."

"If he doesn't like you, he doesn't care and he can be nice to you. But if he does like you, he doesn't want to get in any deeper so he acts mean. The more he likes you, the meaner he acts. Doesn't that make sense?" Shippo nodded hoping that would help Kagome.

"No," she shook her head. Kagome put a hand on Shippo's, "Let's try it a different way. If you were me, what would you do?"

Shippo raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "I don't know Kagome, I don't think you want me to answer that."

"Shippo, make sense. What should I do?" she asked almost pleadingly.

He smiled at her and pointed at her, "Now YOU'RE making sense."

Taken back, Kagome straightened, "What?"

"You said 'What should I do?'. That's it… You're going to have to be the one to do it, because he wont."

Kagome blinked for a moment and smiled, "That's simple. That's something I can understand."

Shippo stood up and stretched. He offered his hand to Kagome, "Now that we've got that all worked out, I'll buy you a soda."

Kagome took his hand and stood, following him towards the common room. The boy paused for a moment and turned to her, "Just promise me one thing Kagome."

"What's that?"

"Don't make him too mean."

the photographer tilted her head.

"Remember, he takes everything out on Miroku and I, and without Miroku here, I take all the heat. So please… Be careful."

She laughed, "Alright Shippo, I promise."


End file.
